UPDATE : Toilet bowl in NZ after Firmware 5.06 release

O

Octo NZ

Member
I had high expectations after the new firmware release. I fly in NZ and as many of you may know, we have a toilet bowl issue when using GPS/atti flying mode : the bird starts flying away in a counterclockwise circle pattern going larger and larger (and also faster).

With the new firmware (5.06) I had to decrease my gain settings from 200 to 140. Atti is 80.
Then, once the Octo (Droidworks HL) started to hover steadily, I tried to switch from Atti to Atti/GPS flying mode (no red light, clear sky).
The result was better but far from a solid hold position. It keeps flying in the same pattern (circle counter CW) but much more slowly and the circle is narrower.
I was a bit disappointed. I had high expectations as I knew that a release was on progress and also read that DJI has been considering the NZ/Australia TBowl issue.
In conclusion : better but still need improvement.

Feel free to share your experience.
 

W

Waiheke

Member
Can you try turning the Gps/compass module about 20 deg to the right, point the arrow to the right.
I am interested to see if this makes the effect better or worse.
Should only take a few seconds to give the unit a quick turn then test fly.
 

1

139 jockey

Member
Is the theory about the 20 deg right to allow for our magnetic variation in NZ? I have been meaning to try this out. It is hard to see what else is different about GPS in our part of the world, but then again I can't belive how poorly my WKM GPS performs in general. I use aviation GPS at work every day any NEVER have any issues, even my cell phone GPS is more reliable than this thing. The most crazy thing is it's randomness, how it totaly fails to aquire some times but not others. I have tired comparing this to RAIM predictions but there seems to be no corilation.
 

R

rwilabee

Member
I'm in the US but I can't believe how well the WKM GPS performs here. I've done many return to home tests and the Hex landed no more than 6 feet from where it took off from.
 

D

Dewster

Member
I think there should be gains for GPS. That way you can adjust the degree of tolerance for position hold in areas that don't have "good reception". Instead of getting the toilet bowl effect from the GPS hunting and pecking for it's position you can increase it's tolerance level +/- feet or meters buffer so that it's not constantly trying to establish hold. I'm not an engineer. I just think that this is a solvable problem for the flyers in the southern hemisphere.
 

D

Dewster

Member
rwilabee said:
I'm in the US but I can't believe how well the WKM GPS performs here. I've done many return to home tests and the Hex landed no more than 6 feet from where it took off from.
Click to expand...

Yes, performance (for me) in the U.S. is flawless. GPS Attitude mode is amazing. It's really the only mode that I fly in now. I go outside, plug in the battery and about 15 seconds later I have a good GPS signal. I was surprised that GPS issues existed for so many in the southern hemisphere. My Hexa will climb/descend in a nice vertical column when I have the throttle above/below half and not stray. Flying is a breeze in GPS mode. DJI should call it GPS assist.

Anyway, I hope that the GPS issues for the affected are resolved. This is a great product and I would hate to see it ruined by bad publicity. I can't wait to see what's in future developments.
 


O

Octo NZ

Member
Waiheke said:
Can you try turning the Gps/compass module about 20 deg to the right, point the arrow to the right.
I am interested to see if this makes the effect better or worse.
Should only take a few seconds to give the unit a quick turn then test fly.
Click to expand...

I had to wait for better weather conditions to give it a try.
I tried to move the GPS to the left and to the right aswell, but it didn't work. It's even worse.

I had Kim (from photohigher) on phone and he received a new GPS unit from DJI. He told me that he should make a trial session hopefully today (if weather permits).
I will keep you posted if news are getting better.
 

Efliernz

Efliernz

Pete
Our weather does suck at the moment! I managed a 90 second test hover between downpours yeasterday after work...

It will be better in a day or two... I know - you want it good NOW!

Pete
 

D

daveshappy

Member
Hi All
This is my first post to this board.

To fix the toilet bowl problem i pointer the gps to about the 2 oclock position and now i get rock solid hold.
I still get one red flash sometimes in flight.

I have not upreaded to the current software.


Hope this helps


Cheers Dave
 


Y

Yves2000_ch

New Member
hello,
after*the*instalation*of the new firmware*my*"main*controller*dji-wookong"*no longer works
unable to connect*to*PC and*these functions*are*defect
The red LED*on the controller*does not work* if possibility to reset système ??? help me
 

1

139 jockey

Member
Hi Colin,

I have been trialing the V2 GPS for Kim and it seems a little better but no silver bullet. I have spent a heap of time over the last few days trying different stuff with both the V1 and v2 units. Having good results with both by offsetting the units about 30* to the right. They both drop all satelittes in flight but reaquire imediatly when units power cycled indicating that it is not a satellite issue but a software thing.

Rick.
 

D

daveshappy

Member
Hi Rick,

Getting the same results down in Kapiti. Some flights go without a hitch then from one up to three red lights.

Thanks for the info.

Cheers Dave
 

seagee

seagee

Member
Hi Rick

Good to see you're getting some improvement and you certainly would have had good flying conditions over the weekend for your testing. Both my WKM units experience toilet bowl effects. I'm flying mainly in the Auckland / Northland regions and while GPS mode is better than ATTI mode, I experience anti-clockwise circling with manual correction being required in order to maintain PH. I find that the amount of manual intervention required varies depending upon wind speed. I have not mustered sufficient confidence to use the CH feature.

Is compass calibration a factor in your testing? How high is your GPS located on the craft and what distance from the IMU? Where is your IMU located? While I haven't yet performed any rigorous testing I'm not observing anything other than consistent purple and occasional white flashing (mainly after sudden pitch / roll control movement) when flying. In new locations it may take ~3 minutes to lose the red flashes but after this I don't usually see red flashes for the remainder of the flight. Just wondering if you have been able to achieve this baseline?

Thanks for your efforts and response. I note that further testing is under way in Oz. Please keep us posted as further info comes to light.

Cheers, Colin
 

1

139 jockey

Member
OK Colin, I have both V1 and V2 GPS units here and have flown about 20 flights over the last 3 days with both units. The V-2 seems slightly better than V-1, but it seems the performance of my V-1 unit has been hugely improved by a number of things. Firstly 5.06 firmware has been a good move for me, but I have a BIG hexa. Next I off set the GPS unit heading about 35* right of the IMU heading. This for me has been the biggest factor in killing the TB. As soon as I line either V-1 or V-2 with the IMU then the TB returns. I have tried a number of times and it seems conclusive that for me at the moment this has fixed the TB. I also found that setting the disturbed gain in the the advanced settings to 110% helps too.

I have had about 15 flights now where I have perfect response from my GPS/ATT mode when I have satellittes. I can fly around and where I take my hand of the sticks is where the A/C stays. It has been strangely calm here so can't comment of performance in the wind. Unfortunatly both V-1 and V-2 have been dropping all the satellites at once. I do not accept this is a GPS unit issue, but am starting to think it must be a WKM sortware issue. I have had it about 10 times now that it drops all satelittes at once, but as soon as I land and power cycle to re boot the WKM I get full GPS in 10 seconds or less. So it proves that the satelittes are there, I can accept it droping down to 6 sats, giving one flashing red, but it just doesn't happen that out of the 24 sats up there in orbit you can drop 3 plus all at once. The fact it happens with V-1 and V-2 leads me to beleve that it has to be something to do with the WKM it's self, unless DGI have produced two different types of GPS units with the same fault, which is a possibility.

Your other questions- I have performed a compass calibration each time I have swaped the GPS units over. The GPS is on the longest rod supplied by DGI, about 130mm above the centre of the IMU mounted about 90mm directly behind the IMU. ( I have tried all sorts of locations and this seems best for me) My IMU is mounted on the centre plate of my SJ6 if that helps? Exactly A/C centre.

Rick.
 

seagee

seagee

Member
Rick

Many thanks for the detail and all your efforts. Now that S800s are beginning to arrive in NZ I would think it useful to run the same tests on a larger DJI standardized unit. I wonder whether any NZ / Oz testing has yet been done using the S800? Achieving the same results on a completely standard DJI unit would provide a fairly compelling argument no?

Cheers,

Colin
 

J

jamienz

Member
Anyone tried the Naza GPS in NZ yet? I am flying in Auckland and want to set up a position hold system but it seems that the WKM and Naza's are a waste of time here. Thinking of getting a Zero UAV YS X6 as I can't get any info from DJI on the Naza GPS performance here in godzone....
 

seagee

seagee

Member
I have one on pre-order. Will report back once received & I've had a chance to test.
Cheers, Colin

jamienz said:
Anyone tried the Naza GPS in NZ yet? I am flying in Auckland and want to set up a position hold system but it seems that the WKM and Naza's are a waste of time here. Thinking of getting a Zero UAV YS X6 as I can't get any info from DJI on the Naza GPS performance here in godzone....
Click to expand...
 

Efliernz

Efliernz

Pete
It's great to see so many willing testers in NZ ;) It's tempting to bring the Hoverfly GPS in (I run two HFP boards on the good quad and octo) to see if that sucks down under too.

@Rick I spent the last two weekends in Stratford + NP with my Dad going into base hospital. Even SD had no wind most of the weekend. Pity with all the family junk in the car... no multis came with me. Time for a cargo-pod I think!

Was it you bringing the 139 into base hospital Monday last week? Lovely machine :)

Pete
 

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